Sunday, February 7, 2016

This is a gorgeous account of Lou Harrison's Piano Concerto (1983/1985) and it is my favorite to spin at the moment. Joanna MacGregor plays wonderfully, her piano sings and dances (and oh the swirling merriment brought about by the percussion in the "Stampede" second movement!) and the blissful result is a luminous concerto that soars ever higher.

Keyboard instruments, since the time of Bach, are tuned to what is called "equal temperament," a compromise system in which, for example, the notes G-sharp and A-flat can be played by the same piano key, even though they are harmonically unalike. Given the invitation to write a concerto for the noted jazz and classical composer Keith Jarrett (who, like Harrison, has crossed musical boundaries throughout his career), Harrison suggested a work in which the piano would be "mistuned" to an earlier, pre-compromise system.

"[This] Concerto," writes Harrison, "is an exploration of the many beauties of...this astonishing tuning." Briefly put, the black keys are tuned to produce the mathematically precise 4ths and 5ths beloved of medieval theoreticians; the white keys come off resembling the "just intonation" of the Renaissance and Baroque. The orchestra consists of strings, two harps, three trombones and a large percussion section; each group, furthermore, tunes to different facets of this system.

That's all very complicated; what results, however, is less so: a kind of harmonic richness that sounds slightly disconnected from the customary tuning of, say, a piano concerto of Brahms, without sounding truly "off." There is an urgency to the harmonic impulse here, and this is only partially offset by the ever-so-intangible "exotic" sound of the whole. It is, furthermore, astonishingly beautiful, as the composer promises.

Four movements make up the work, the first two large-scale, the last two single, simple afterthoughts. The massive first movement takes some delight in oratorical proclamations from soloist and orchestra that might indeed have come from the mature Brahms's worktable. But some of the piano writing, too, has a way of suggesting the clangor of Eastern bells; there is an open, clattery quality, not unlike a Bach invention gone amok.

In the wild and wonderful second movement quite a lot goes delightfully amok, in fact. The piano takes flight in veritable perpetual motion to a breathless, dazzling rhythmic configuration. Sharp, boisterous tone-clusters from the pianist accentuate the irregularities of this rhythm; even a brief cadenza near the end cannot stop the onrush. A slow meditation and another airy, light-hearted perpetuum mobile bring the Concerto to an end.

Many strands of thought, some of them seemingly irreconcilable, are imaginatively entwined in this work, itself a sort of synthesis of Lou Harrison's all-embracing musical outlook. "It's never enough," he says, "just to know your own musical tradition. There's so much out there in the world; there's no reason to put on blinders."

Lou Harrison Idiosyncrasies and Fun Facts:

*A lifelong lover of science and science fiction, Harrison frequently paid a small fee to have newly discovered stars named after friends.

*Harrison was fluent in several languages including American Sign Language, Mandarin and Esperanto.

*Harrison typically composed in a trailer with blocked windows.

*Harrison and Colvig constructed an environmentally friendly straw-bale house on land they purchased in the California desert community of Joshua Tree. The architectural dimensions were based on the same numerical ratios as his tuning systems.

*Harrison co-wrote his Party Pieces at New York social gatherings with his close friends Cowell, Thomson, and Cage. As a game, one participant would compose a measure, then fold the paper so that only the last beat was visible and pass it to the next composer, who would continue the process. After a few rounds, they would play the frequently fascinating result. Bob Hughes later orchestrated these trifles, which were then recorded in 1983 by the Brooklyn Philharmonic.

Piano Concerto

1) Allegro (11:04)

2) Stampede, Allegro (8:52)

3) Largo (7:26)

4) Allegro Moderato (3:03)

I bought the lossless (flac) files for this release and I'm posting it this way (it's under 120mb) as it's

I'm disappointed -- is that the right word? chagrined? something like -- that Lou Harrison got taken in by a star-naming scam. You can't pay to get a star named after you (or anyone else). I mean, you can, but astronomers don't pay attention. Just sayin'! Scams, stamp 'em out!

Hi there nhac! Happy new year to you too. It's the year of the "red" monkey? That's what I was told - a 'special' year and special monkey. The person who told me this however is a 9-year old girl however lol so the source is questionable!

Scraps it's time to put your chagrin aside; ok Lou Harrison named stars...but it made him happy. I assume."Scam" or not. I mean, I like you Scraps - I would name a star after you - all you would need to do, after sending the basket of hand-crafted, artisan-baked goods (half with gluten, half without please) with wheat from the rolling hills of Italy - is send 5 easy installments, $19.99, to my apartment, eerrm a LLC btw..

Operators are standing by!!

I personally would prefer someone to name a cannoli after me, so long as it was presented on a plate.

Tell ya what's just as bad - the "rare", "official", presidential coins that you can buy (TV offer only! only another 1.5 hours left, it's a steal!!) with REAL faux gold surrounding Obama, and fireworks in the background for example.. I bet the Reagan coins are rare like a Shelby Mustang fastback by now....

About Me

My mad obsession has always been collecting music. Learning *all* that there is to learn about composers, their lives, the particular environment under which they created their art, and so on. My burning passion is music. Sharing it, discussing it and constantly unearthing aural treasures in the wilderness, especially thanks to the hard work and dedication of a few amazing and like-minded fellow posters/bloggers. They are one of the main reasons why I am finally blogging-my gratitude is endless! Comments are VERY much appreciated!